None Shall Compass! British Orienteers Cross Russian Border to Have a Few

Borders are meant to be trespassed, right? Following this rebellious logic, a team of British orienteers, who participated in a tournament in Finland, violated the border with Russia for a noble cause – a few beers.

The four hikers traveled by car to the Finnish town of Joensuu after participating in the Jukola 2017 orienteering competition. En route, they stopped at the Russian border and crossed it on foot, Finnish national broadcaster Yle reported. Although their stay in Russia was brief, they managed to accomplish pretty much everything they had aspired to do, even at the cost of a subsequent detention.

“The men stayed in the Russian territory for about 15 minutes and had several cans of beer,” Timo Häkkinen, chief investigator of Finland’s Border Guard told Yle. He also noted that the Russian side was informed about the incident.

After the detention, the Brits admitted having crossed the border deliberately. By their own admission, the temptation to visit Russia, albeit for a brief moment, was too strong. It was reported that the violators were allowed to return to their homeland, but that they’ll have to pay a fine.
Jukola is an annual orienteering relay held in the vicinity of Joensuu since 1948. This year’s event attracted 15,900 compass-equipped enthusiasts from around the globe.

Remarkably, this is the second time in a week that tourists visiting Finland also have a go at the Russian border.

Earlier, a group of German vacationers secretly visited Russia for a six-minute-long adrenaline trip near Uukuniemi, the Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat reported. The illegal border crossing did not go unnoticed, as the Finnish Border Guard caught up with the infringers in Savonlinna a few days later, when the trespassers were happily enjoying their meal on a restaurant terrace. The Germans confessed to having illegally crossing the border, citing a thirst for adventure. Despite the incident, which led to a fine, the Germans adventurers were allowed to continue their vacation in Finland.